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Home » Computers And Internet Articles » Neopets The Power Of Children And Their Imagination

Neopets: The Power Of Children And Their Imagination

If you haven't heard of Neopets than I have to seriously wonder what planet you come from, you definitely don't hail from Neopia. www.neopets.com is one of the most popular sites on the whole Internet, and what does this mean to you and me? It's a kid's site. Our next generation is finding a home in virtual reality, and they love it. Neopets has over 70 million members from Timbuktu to Kalamazoo, and has had a total of over 300 billion website page views. According to Wired magazine's Dec. 2005 edition, Neopets is the second most 'sticky' website on the whole of our planet's World Wide Web. Average users are on the site around 6 hours a month...with so many members the mind boggles as to how much time our future generations are spending time with their virtual pets. What is a virtual pet anyway? Why does every kid on the Earth want one? What do you do with them once they're in your custody?

Things have changed since I was a youngster and that wasn't too long ago let me tell you. I played video games, rode BMX bicycles, and even 'toilet papered' the occasional house or two-usually the girls we liked (this last activity wasn't as socially productive as the former). Virtual reality hadn't hit the main stage like it has today; computers themselves in my mind were for finding out stuff at school. No one knew what the Internet was when I was ten years old back in 1985. Now all the kids are playing games and participating in other activities online in order to gain more points which enhance their pet's skills and talents. Sounds weird, doesn't it? It's not weird to the little humans of the future.

Neopia is a strange world, and I've only just begun to scratch the surface. As far as I can tell, you can create a virtual shop to sell items, or go to other's shops and make purchases using your points (gained through all the pet's experiences). For example, I went to a marketplace, clicked my mouse on the music section and was told that I could buy a 'Chomby and the Fungus Balls' T-shirt for only 1,588 neopoints, and that there were currently 7 of the product in stock. I guess it's cool to buy your pet neat things...I don't know if I understand it but I think it's a huge phenomenon...there's even a stock market called the Neodaq index! Talk about getting the children prepared for the future. One has to wonder how all this will affect society when our kids finally do grow up. That's another point of contention. Where there's action, there's usually an adult trying to make a buck out of it, and this site is definitely no exception.

Neopets have coined its money-making model as 'immersive advertising'. The content of the experience is no longer separate from commercialism. You've heard of product placement, well this is another whole step forward, or backward from that older model. I went inside the game section of the website (after choosing a species of pet: A Jubjub, then naming it, choosing its color, and rolling to get its characteristics.) and then had a look at the 160 possible games for me to enjoy. I decided to play the McDonalds Secret Image Game. There's nothing secret about what the suit-and-tie guys are trying to pull off here. All my favorite Happy Meal characters were being portrayed in pictures that slowly gained more and more focus. If you could tell that the Hamburglar was dancing, you scored points. In the Wired article author David Kushner quotes James McNeal a professor in marketing who said, "It is not until around 8 years old that they (children) can mentally defend against a persuasive sales message if they wish to.'

The balance of the Universe is always in play and this is another case where both positive and negative possibilities stem from a new creation in human culture. Kids love Neopets. My Jubjub named Dogstarmaster looks pretty cool. I don't know how I am going to get defensive armor for him, nor why I need it, but I guess that's all part of the Neopet journey. Let your kids enjoy, learn and make friends with the other animals. Just be careful, they might end up becoming stock brokers...and watch out they don't eat too many cheeseburgers. There's no use having a virtual pet that is super healthy and strong, while the child owner is sick and obese.

Summary: If you haven't heard of Neopets than I have to seriously wonder what planet you come from, you definitely don't hail from Neopia. www.neopets.com is one of the most popular sites on the whole Internet, and what does this mean to you and me? It's a kid's site.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Rolling your 401k: Contributory IRA vs. Rollover IRA

In an ideal world you would start your working career with a great company in your early 20s, steadily climb the corporate ladder, retire at age 65, and draw a sufficient income from your accumulated 401k account to live happily ever after.

Unfortunately, that's not how the real world works. If you are like most people, you will change careers, or at least companies, several times. Each time, you'll be faced with the question of what to do with your accumulated 401k benefits.

You will likely have a few choices: keep your 401k with your old employer (sometimes possible), roll the proceeds into your new employer's 401k plan, or put them directly into a self-directed IRA at a brokerage firm of your choice.

Since leaving your 401k with your ex-employer has no benefits whatsoever and most employers will prefer you transfer out anyway, that leaves only the last two as viable options:

1. Roll your 401k proceeds into the new employer's 401k plan of (if allowed)

This is the most painless solution and the one that does not require much decision making. While this is certainly acceptable, there is a bigger picture.

The ultimate goal of having a 401k plan is to provide you with a comfortable retirement. To accomplish this you really need a wide variety of investment choices and the opportunity to move among them in response to market variations.

Most 401ks are limited to maybe 15 mutual fund choices which rarely change, even if market behavior dictates they should. Additionally, the canned advice provided through plan sponsors is generally not terribly useful.

The only benefit to this type of rollover is that if your plan has a loan provision, you'll be able to borrow funds easily.

2. Roll your 401k proceeds into a self directed IRA

This is the preferable solution for most people, and with it you again have two choices: roll your 401k into a "Contributory" or a "Rollover" IRA.

Contributory IRA:

Once you roll your proceeds into this type of IRA, you may still contribute annually if you qualify (check with your accountant). However, the 401k portion can no longer be rolled back into another 401k with a new employer, should you ever want to do that. So you eliminate the possibility of using the loan provision with those funds. While it is possible to borrow against an IRA, it's more limited than borrowing against an employer 401k. Check with your tax preparer for details.

Rollover IRA:

This type of IRA allows you the most flexibility. You may roll the proceeds back into a 401k plan if you want to utilize a loan provision. However, for tax reasons you should not make annual contributions to this IRA. If making annual contributions becomes important to you, simply open another contributory IRA.

Since Rollover IRAs are usually set up at a brokerage firm, you'll have access to their entire universe of mutual funds. With this type of IRA, you can also employ an independent investment advisor to manage the account for you. (Yes there is a cost for that, but an effective advisor will more than make up for that in greater returns than you would get without him or her.)

Most of my clients have found that the investment results we've obtained with their personal IRAs were far superior to those yielded by their employer 401k plans or their personal investing efforts. This has been mainly due to a combination of better choices and a methodical approach to investing which has kept my clients in the market during good times and out of it altogether during severe declines.

Bottom line: Rollover IRAs offer opportunities to maximize benefits and provide flexibility not usually available with employer 401k plans.